The Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the Lebanese American UniversityAlice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750 Washington DC 20001, (202)-887-6791
ANNUAL REPORT
2016–2017
Message from the Dean Greetings and welcome to the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing at the Lebanese American University. It is both an honor and privilege to be the dean of a school with outstanding commitment to nursing education, research, interprofessional education and practice. The Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing is one of the leading schools in the region and is known for its outstanding educational values. Our vision is to be the pioneering school of nursing in Lebanon and beyond with a major emphasis on improving the health status of our local, regional and global communities. Our mission is to prepare healthcare professionals to provide high-quality, accessible, costeffective health care within a highly technological environment. We promote-evidence based methods through interprofessional education and practice, with a strong commitment to improving the health of the people of Lebanon and the region. We have a diverse student population poised to improve the health status of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and to be tomorrow’s leaders in the field. We are known for our unwavering commitment to our students and their careers. Our CCNE accredited program offers our students a wide array of clinical training, community engagement, and interprofessional education and practice. Through coursework and outstanding teaching and learning environment, our graduates are academically and clinically prepared to take on the role as professional nurses in a variety of settings. Our academic values are student-centered. We emphasize active student engagement, self-directed learning, leadership development, and community service. During their studies, students are encouraged to appraise existing and new evidence-based nursing practices in the local and regional communities, to advance the quality of healthcare, and to cultivate their critical thinking skills in an effort to respond to the rapid changes in the delivery of highquality, cost-effective healthcare for all. Our faculty members are acclaimed for their expertise in nursing education and practice. They help students develop their leadership skills and strengthen the school’s collaborative ties with our local, regional, and global partners. We invite you to learn more about our nursing program by visiting our website at http://nursing.lau.edu.lb/. We look forward to welcoming you to our school of nursing. With best wishes,
Anahid Kulwicki, PhD, RN, FAAN Dean and Professor
The Best and Brightest Applications to study at ARCSON have continued their steady climb, rising by 38 percent since 2010. Of the applications submitted, over 75 percent – representing the best and brightest of graduating high school students – were accepted. While there have always been more female than male applicants to ARCSON, in 2017 the number of male applicants increased, bringing the total number of male students closer to that of the female students. In line with ARCSON’s commitment to excellence, all final-year students graduated, 14 percent with distinction and 20 percent with honor.
Trends in Student Admissions | 2010–2017
Here at the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing (ARCSON) we’re proud to be training the next generation of nurses. Our graduates are the brightest in the field, bringing clinical excellence, professional commitment, and community engagement to their work.
Trends in Student Enrollment | 2010–2017
Trends in Degrees Conferred | 2013–2016
For a Good Cause Donors help ARCSON reach great academic heights with their generous contributions. We would like to offer tremendous thanks to those who contribute their time and financial support to help ARCSON reach great heights. The Bellevue Medical Center sponsored a dinner for the graduating class of nurses, treating the recent grads to a night of food, fun and some well-deserved celebration. In November, runners from across the country gathered in Beirut for the annual marathon. Members of the LAU family ran under the Courage to Fight Breast Cancer campaign led by ARCSON.
Grants One of the ways our hard work and dedication are recognized is through the grants we receive. This year, Dean Anahid Kulwicki obtained a grant from the University of Porto, Portugal, that will help ARCSON establish faculty — and student — exchange programs, and promote research collaboration between LAU’s nursing and medical faculty and their counterparts at the University of Porto. Assistant Professor Rita Doumit completed a pilot project aimed at improving mental-health outcomes and quality of life among Syrian refugees in Lebanon with funding from a World Health Organization (WHO) grant. The project was a research-tested intervention program called COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment).
STUDENT ACTIVITIES SCHOLARSHIPS
CONFERENCE SUPPORT
BUILDING FUND
RESEARCH SUPPORT
Gifts and contributions to ARCSON are based on designated purpose
Peer Reviewed Publications Bar-Serla, G., Schultz, M., Khader, K., Rassouli, M., Doumit, M., Ghrayeb, I., … Silberman, M. (2016). Provision of spiritual care to advanced cancer patients by doctors and nurses in the Middle East. Annals Oncology, 27 (6), DOI: http//doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdw384.13 Diab Abdel-Fattah, H., Kulwicki, A. (2017). Impact of Compliance to DASH Teaching Dietary Guidelines on Hypertension and Dietary Knowledge among Egyptian Sample. Journal of Health, Medicine and Nursing. (38), 7-17. Doumit, M., Farhood, L., Hamady, C., (2017) Focus Groups Investigating Mental Health Attitudes and Beliefs of Parents and Teachers in South Lebanon: Are They Culturally Determined? Journal of Transcultural Nursing http://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/8wUDwATrBN8x2eNNsuQk/full Doumit, M., Khoury, N. M. (2017) Facilitating and hindering factors for coping with the experience of having a child with cancer; a Lebanese perspective. Journal of psychosocial oncology, 35 (3), 346-361. Doumit, M., Lockhart, J, Nassif, S & Azoury, N. (2017) Understanding the Personal Meaning of Work for oncology nurses in Lebanon: a qualitative Hermeneutic phenomenological study. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 24(1). Doumit, R., Zeeni, N., Long, J., Kazandjian, C., Gharibeh, N., Karam, K., Song, H., Boswell C. (2016). Using Cell Phone Camera Pictures to Record Food Intake and Promote Healthy Eating. Worldviews on Evidenced-Based Nursing, 13(3), 216-223. doi 10.1111/wvn.12123 Doumit, R., Zeeni, N., Sanchez Ruiz, M. J., Khazen, G. (2016). Anxiety as a Moderator of the Relationship between Body Image and Restrained Eating. Perspectives in Psychiatric 52, 254- 264. doi: 10.1111/ppc.12126 Hoffart, N., Doumit, R. & Nasser, S. (2016). Use of Storyboards as an Active Learning Strategy in Nursing and Pharmacy Education. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 8(6), 876-884. Long, J. D., Gannaway, P., Ford, C., Doumit, R., Zeeni, N., Sukkarieh-Haraty, O. Song, H. (2016). Effectiveness of a Technology-Based intervention to teach Evidence-Based practice: The EBR tool. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 13(1), 59-65. doi:10.1111/wvn.12132 Sukkarieh-Haraty, O., & Hoffart, N. (2017). Integrating Evidence-Based Practice into a Lebanese Nursing Baccalaureate Program: Challenges and Successes International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship (Vol. 14). Sukkarieh-Haraty, O., & Howard, E. (2016). Psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the summary of diabetes self-care activities instrument. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 30(1), 60. doi:10.1891/1541-6577.30.1.60 Zeeni, N., Zeenny, R., Hasbini, T.D., Al Asmar, N., Bassil, M., Nasser, S.C., Milane, A., Farra, A., Habre, M., Khazen, G., & Hoffart, N. (2016). Student perceptions towards interprofessional education: Findings from a longitudinal study based in a Middle Eastern university. Journal of Interprofessional Care. 30(2), 165-174.
Chapters in Books Kulwicki, A., (2016). Domestic violence: Cultural Determinants. Reducing Risks, and Enhancing Resilience. In M. Amer & G. Awad, Handbook of Arab American Psychology. (pp. 206-218). Tyler and Francis
Published Abstracts
Zeeni, N., Hoffart N., Habre M., Zeenny R., Farra A., & Hasbini T.D. “Student Perceptions of Health Professions Prior to Participation in an IPE Program” submitted for the Collaborating Across Borders VI conference, taking place October 1 – 4, 2017 in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Making Things Happen Here at ARCSON, we’re always busy increasing awareness, helping those in need, and giving back to the community. In May, we celebrated International Nurses Day by conducting a halfday conference for community members and stakeholders. The conference was covered by media outlets including The Daily Star, L’Orient le Jour, OTV, Tele Liban, NBN and Future TV. Later that month, the school held a Pinning and Recognition ceremony as a way of rewarding students for their hard work. Guest of honor HE Mrs. Leila El-Solh Hamade spoke to an audience made up of parents, students and community partners. During the fall semester, for her portion of the clinical intensive course “Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles,” Clinical Instructor Mira Abi SaadYoussef’s students hosted a public-health event in Byblos. Students led awareness sessions on hypertension, diabetes, cancer, healthy lifestyle and more, in addition to providing free screenings, such as glucose testing, to attendees. In December, Clinical Instructor Zeina El-Jordi’s students organized mental-health awareness sessions for high school students in Aley as part of her Mental Health Clinical Intensive course.
Giving Back We also focused our efforts on community engagement. By helping the community, we help ourselves grow. During the year, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean Myrna Doumit acted as the director of the breast cancer awareness campaign, C2. As part of C2’s mission, Doumit and a large team of healthcare workers traveled to rural areas in Lebanon to conduct awareness workshops for women on self-care measures and early detection. Throughout the year, Clinical Instructor Maha Habre acted as advisor of the LAU First Responder’s Club, which implemented two blood drives, a first-aid training course, and an awareness session on first-aid kits. Clinical Instructor Maha Habre performed 12-lead ECGs in collaboration with the Remy Rbeiz Foundation at the Byblos Community Health Fair this fall. In late December, members of the ARCSON faculty and the Nursing Club traveled to the Byblos branch of charity Bonheur du Ciel to drop off 176 kilos of non-perishable food they had collected. They also worked with the charity’s staff to prepare a large and healthy feast for the underprivileged people who depend on the center.
Being Recognized In addition to the joy of bringing people better health, and being recognized by patients for our hard work, we are proud to receive awards and invitations to sit on distinguished panels. This year, Dean Anahid Kulwicki took home the Leadership Award from the National Initiative for the Centennial of Greater Lebanon, presented by the Lebanese Parliament. Dean Kulwicki was also a guest speaker on a number of panels, including: The Tobacco Cessation Program panel hosted by the Armenian Relief Society of Lebanon in February 2017. he Impact of Global Issues on Women and Children T conference in Manipal, India, January 2017. he 110th anniversary of the AUB School of Nursing, T titled “Development of Evidence-Based Nursing in an Interdisciplinary Era: Achievements and Prospects.” Dean Kulwicki was appointed as member of the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon’s Executive Health Committee. Together, our students, faculty and staff make ARCSON one of the leading nursing schools in the region. It is our honor to serve our patients and community, and, in the process, to make a positive impact in the field of nursing. ARCSON faculty members are major players in nursing, and they are being recognized for their contribution to the field. Associate Professor and Assistant Dean Myrna Doumit was awarded a fellowship at the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) in October. Doumit was also elected coordinator for the Middle East chapters of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the secondlargest nursing organization in the world.
Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury Health Sciences Center 5200 Byblos campus +961 9 547254 ext. 2494 nursing.school@lau.edu.lb www.nursing.lau.edu.lb